7-year-old Ben Thiem has NASCAR experience

Photo for The Union by John Hart Erin Thiem mother and son Josh Thiem, 4, drive a NASCAR, Wednesday afternoon at the Outside Inn on East Broad Street in Nevada City, while simulator operator Jeff Cordell provides direction.

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Photo for The Union by John Hart Seven-year-old Ben Thiem, along with Josh Thiem , 4, Peter Kosha, 4, and Coen Clove, 6, watch Matthew Jones prepare a NASCAR simulator for them to test drive at the Outside Inn on East Broad Street in Nevada City Wednesday afternoon.

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Photo for The Union by John Hart Ben Thiem, 7, stretches to reach the gas pedal while driving a NASCAR simulator, while his brother Josh Thiem, 4, watches Wednesday afternoon at the Outside Inn on East Broad Street in Nevada City.

As 7-year-old Ben Thiem climbed behind the steering wheel to test his skills with a real-life NASCAR race car Wednesday afternoon, there were really only four words that mattered: Go fast, turn left. Racing around a digital version of Texas Motor Speedway, Thiem seemed to be a fast study of the technique sitting inside a NASCAR simulator parked outside his family’s business, Outside Inn in Nevada City. Though he struggled to reach the gas pedal during the three-lap race, he did reach a top speed of 137 miles an hour before banging into the wall above the high banking of …